These Days
by SeraphimeRising
Summary: A chance meeting leads to a temptation that neither Ron or Pansy can resist. Warnings: Infidelity. Light Bondage. M/F. SoloF. Minor Character Death. You have been warned. Oh and you might need a tissue or two.
1. New Year's Eve

_Author's Note: Chapter 1 'The Dawn' was originally written for LJ RarePair_Shorts Summer Wishlist 2009 as a gift to Terravayne. One of her three prompts was 'Infidelity - A and B just can't stay apart, even though they know it's wrong'. My muse, however, wasn't finished, though 'The Dawn' was. This piece is also un-betaed at the moment._

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Nor do I make any money.**  
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Prologue – New Year's Eve

Pansy took a deep breath before shrugging up the skirt of her tight-fitting, dark purple dress to remove the cigarette case she had strapped to her thigh with a garter. Looking back towards the French doors, she let out a sigh after checking to ensure that Theo hadn't followed her. She hated the fact that she was pleased that he hadn't. She desperately needed a break from him. And smoking provided the easiest excuse as he hated it himself.

Pansy loved her husband. She knew that. He knew that. But after two hours of serving no purpose but as his prop while he worked all hours at rebuilding the wealth and reputation of both the Notts and Parkinsons was a bit much for her. Especially since, she wasn't quite sure why he was doing it as there would be no legacy from them to enjoy his hard work and long hours.

Tonight at the Ministry's annual New Year's Eve Ball, Pansy hated herself even more when she realized that she had found herself being insanely jealous of Hermione Granger of all people. She wasn't a prop for her husband. He obviously didn't care how she dressed; as tonight she had worn a pants suit better suited for work than a New Year's Eve party. She was allowed to speak her mind and work and be a sodding human being with a mind and a mouth, not just some dutiful wife whose sole responsibility on this planet was to always look her best.

Pansy wished she had a husband like Weasley turned out to be. Yet who would have ever thought that the uncouth, loud-mouth, irresponsible, thoughtless, rude, albeit breath-taking gorgeous youngest male Weasley would turn out to be a perfect husband. Granger probably wouldn't have snagged him if the rest of the female Hogwarts' population had been let in on that little secret earlier. Pansy's mind kept wondering, as she watched the youngest Weasley stand by his bushy-haired wife, if she had a husband like him, would the hole in her life disappear?

So what if her and Theo were unable to have children but to reduce their sex lives to maybe once a week, just to shut her up, was beyond ridiculous in her mind. She just couldn't convince Theo that sex could mean more and be more to them then just for procreation but time and time again, she had failed miserably. Causing the hole in her life to deepen and the gap between her and her husband to widen.

Just another area in which she believed she had simply failed her husband and their marriage.

_Maybe, just maybe_, she thought. _Loving her husband wasn't enough for a successful marriage._ _If that was the case, then life had a cruel sense of humor._

Her instinct at that very moment, though highly inappropriate, was to scream her head off. Instead she took a deep breath and held it, counting to ten, before putting a cigarette to her mouth and lighting it with her snap of her fingers. Pansy knew it was a childish, teenage trick but she found it easier than trying to carry a wand around everywhere especially when she wore such a tight-fitting dress to an event.

With a long drag off the cigarette, she blew it out into the winter air that was currently being controlled by a warming charm surrounding the balcony. It really was a beautiful evening with a fresh blanket of snow littering the grounds and the French garden stretching out into the local landscape. Too bad she couldn't find enjoyment in the view.

"Got a light," a male voice broke the silence of the night.

"Only a childish parlour trick," she said with a laugh, clicking her fingers together as she spun around. Anything else she was going to say, dropped out of her mind when she saw just who asked her for the light – Ron Weasley. The perfect husband stood just a foot away from her in a simple, black Muggle suit. Somebody one day would need to explain to Pansy how the hell did Granger get the prize of Hogwarts?

"Wouldn't expect anything else from you Parkinson," he laughed as he lit his own cigarette from her fingers. His cologne hit her hard as the smell of him and the woods wrapped around her, targeting the part of her that had long been forgotten or more recently, denied by her husband.

"It's Nott actually," she replied with a smile, flashing her rings towards him. She knew the behaviour was again childish but she didn't feel like being above it tonight.

"I know," Ron said, taking a draw off his cigarette. "Just figure I tease you for old times' sake."

"We don't have old times," she reminded him sharply, turning back to the scenery not really expecting him to say anything more. "You hated me and I returned the sentiment."

"You are in a pleasant mood tonight," he replied, leaning against the balustrade next to her. Except he had positioned himself to watch the door, while she continued to look at the landscape that led away from the house.

Taking another draw off her cigarette, she sighed, "You would be too, if all you had done for the past two hours is stand quietly by your significant other and smile. While adding nothing more to the conversation in front of you than the most extreme in niceties, since you would be shushed if you tried to offer an opinion or actually join in the bloody conversation."

"What do you think I have been doing all evening?"

Pansy's head whipped around so quickly to look at him, she could have sworn she had strained something in her neck. Looking at him, her eyes wide in shock and disbelief, she started to say, "But..."

"Husbands can be props too," he replied coolly, interrupting her. "And right now that is all I am to the woman I love, a bloody prop to achieve her own goals of saving every living thing imaginable."

"That makes two of us. Except mine is working his arse off trying to rebuild our family names and reputations since our fathers' did an excellent job destroying both by following that nut-job," she sighed, turning her head back towards the gardens and taking a drag off the cigarette. "Do you ever wonder why they married us? Or if that's why they married us – in your case your name and in my case...well all I've ever been known for is my looks, once I grew out of that pug-stage."

"Everyday. As much as I wonder why I married her," he said, turning around to look in the same direction she was.

"You probably married her for the same reason I married Theo," she responded with a sad and knowing smile. "I love him. I really do. I just know I feel like a fool for doing so most of the time these days."

Silence fell on them as they continued to smoke their cigarettes. Both wrapped in their own thoughts and misery of how they may have achieved every dream they wanted but somehow those dreams turned out to be nothing more than a living nightmare.

Finishing her cigarette, she tossed it to the ground and pressed it out with her heel before saying, "Back to being a living, breathing doll."

Impulsively she reached out and touched his arm, in a commiserative and understanding gesture, and sincerely told him, "Good luck with everything."

When he turned his head to obviously say something in reply, she found her face only inches from his. Even in the dim light that the on-going party provided them, she could make out just how blue his eyes were as they grew darker with every passing second. How they were not just any blue, they became the dark navy blue of the winter midnight sky that hung around them that very moment. The most beautiful colour she had ever seen in another person's eyes.

Her breathing caught as she felt herself drowning in his eyes; into their fathomless bottom. She couldn't believe she felt this way; having never known the feeling that was overcoming her senses at the very moment. All these overwhelming feelings from such an innocent touch meant as comfort and the way he just looked at her, her befuddled her increasingly hazy mind. He wanted her. It was clear by his penetrating gaze. Theo had never looked at her that way. The way she thought only existed in knut-store novels; a way she believed she would never need.

Until now.

"Ron," she whispered, as she felt his hand reach across his body and gently touch the side of her face; caressing the jaw line as his eyes fell from her eyes and down towards her lips.

"I love my wife," he whispered, dragging his thumb across her suddenly dry lips.

Tears welling up in her eyes, she returned the sentiment, "And I love my husband."

"Pansy." He whispered, wiping a traitorous tear away from her cheek.

Leaning forward, she closed her eyes and gently set her lips on his. Only wanting a brief taste of something she didn't think existed in this life.

She just never expected his hand to sneak behind her head. His fingers running through her short, chin-length hair, before pulling her closer to his own body. The simple action caused her to press her lips more firmly into his. Turning her attempt at a stolen kiss, into a fully realized kiss full of passion and want. At the very moment, something inside her snap as she returned the need she felt radiating off his body. She pressed the rest of her body into his, as his tongue begged her lips for entrance which she immediately granted with a heated sigh from both of them.

Pansy had no idea how long they were there on the balcony, finding release in each other's arms and mouths. She finally broke away when her need for air, outweighed her need for him and his passion.

"I have a cabin up in Scotland," she whispered, delicately running her fingers down his jaw line. "Theo's away on business in the States starting January 6 for two weeks."

"Pansy..." he started but she hushed him with her fingers.

"Please don't," she replied. She slowly drew her fingers away and stepped away from him, though her traitorous body just wanted to let him take her then and there; damning the consequences.

Pansy continued to back away, her eyes never leaving his face until she came to the doorway that would take her back to the real world, her real life. She spun as soon as she hit the doorway and hurried inside ashamed of what she had just asked Ron to do. Not knowing if he would take her up on her impulsive offer. Only hoping deep in her heart that he would.


	2. The Dawn

Chapter 1 – The Dawn

Pansy loved the dawn. But not for the reasons that most did. She loved it for only one reason – it reminded her of her lover. Pansy loved to sit on the porch of their cabin buried in the Scottish woods and watch the navy coloured sky become awash with a fiery red before fading into a brilliant, bright blue.

The navy sky reminding her of her lover's eyes, the moment he saw her at their cottage in their few stolen weekends. The red of the dawning sun had the same bold hue of his locks of hair that she loved to run her fingers through. And the brilliant blue of the early morning sky shared the same colour as his eyes when he would tell her good-bye until the next time.

This quiet Sunday morning, Pansy watched the sun begin to appear as dawn broke. She was sitting on porch swing of their little cottage, wrapped up in a quilt while holding her mug full of tea with both hands. She shivered briefly from the early morning chill as she took a sip of the warming liquid.

"You're up early," she heard her lover's voice from the front door.

Turning her head, she smiled at him and reminded him, "You know I love to watch the sun rise."

"Why didn't you wake me?" He responded moving towards her, clad only in his plaid pajama pants.

"You just looked so peaceful and rested that I didn't have the heart to wake you," she said unwrapping her own scantily clad body from the quilt so he could join her on the porch swing. "You said you haven't been getting much sleep since Hugo was born and Hermione insisting on going back to work so quickly."

"But I get less time with you," he whispered, pulling her into his lap; wrapping the quilt around them both to protect them from the early morning chill. "A stolen weekend maybe twice a year?"

"You still need your sleep," she whispered back, settling into his body for the comfort it always provided her. Then she decided to lighten the mood and teased him, "Since I know I have this rather odd tendency to keep you up at all hours when we are here."

It didn't work though.

"Theo's lucky to have you," Ron told her, giving her body a gentle squeeze that made her feel like a woman in his arms before taking the mug from her so he could have a sip.

"And Hermione is lucky to have you," she whispered, nuzzling his neck and placing a gentle kiss on it. "Let's not talk about that now. Not here. Not on our last day together until who knows when."

"I know, but they always seem to be lurking behind everything we do here."

"I know," she sadly replied. "But I also know that I really love Theo."

"And I really love Hermione. Most days anymore." He whispered the last part so quietly, that Pansy barely heard him. It tugged at her heart that he had become so miserable in his relationship with the supposed love of his life.

"What I really hate," Pansy started as she ran her fingers along his naked chest as she took in his smell trying to make sure she could remember it until the next time they could get together. She then quietly continued, hating that she was about to admit this, "I really hate that it is not enough. That Theo will never be enough for me. Not since I found you."

To her surprised, she heard him say, "I completely understand."

"Do you ever feel guilty?" she whispered, taking the mug back.

"Every time I return. You?"

"Same," she admitted, before sipping from the mug. "What eases your quilt?"

"Just being around Hermione day in and day out for days at a time. There are days she makes it so hard to be with her with all the criticism and emasculation. And I know there are other days, that I want to leave but I can't trust her not to turn Rose and Hugo against me for leaving. So by the time we can meet here again, I find that any guilt I have or had is gone."

"Same here," she softly said. "Sometimes, I think it would be better to end this but then I know I would really end up hating Theo and he deserves better than to have a wife who resents him because he can't make me feel the way I know that you do. But at the same time I also can't bring myself to leave him because I know it will destroy him. And I love him too much to do that to him."

"So how did we get here?" Ron whispered, as the sun broke from the dawn. "Stuck between what is right and what is right for us? Perpetually at dawn."


	3. Morning

Chapter 2 – The Morning

Pansy felt her husband's soft good-bye kiss on her lips but she didn't acknowledge it as she feigned sleep in their marriage bed that morning.

There was a time she had felt guilty about doing so but lately, as the days since the last time she saw Ron moved into triple digits, the guilt had disappeared. Unfortunately, the doubts about why she was still with Theo were growing exponentially with every passing day. She finally understood what Ron had told her about the guilt fading away the last time they were together.

Something had changed that last weekend she had spent with him. She wasn't sure what, she just knew it had. Maybe it was the realization that they were stuck and there was nothing they could do about it. And maybe that's why the last time they made love it had taken on a needy, desparate tone of wanting only more from the other.

This morning, Pansy found herself wondering know how they went six months without seeing each other last time. For the first time since they started their affair five years ago, she was struggling to last the previous three months without him.

Once she heard the downstairs door close and felt the magic of the wards go up around the house, Pansy finally opened her eyes to the brightness of the morning of a new day. Stretching lazily, she let her fingers graze down her thighs as the latest addition to her morning routine. The one that took priority to even food.

Moving into her favorite position, she closed her eyes and imagined that it was Ron's hands grazing her thighs. And that it was his fingers pulling on her nipples causing her to moan. She thought about the way he felt as he entered her, as she slipped a finger inside while rubbing her clit with her thumb. She thought about the pressure of his weight upon her body; his large body engulfing, owning, claiming her own smaller one. The feeling of his beard against her face, her neck, her chest, every inch of her skin came to mind as her body started the familiar tightening. And when she knew her body was teetering on that edge, she allowed herself to remember the way he would half-moan, half-whisper her name in her ear in the husky tone his voice took on during his own release.

At that very moment, her own release came with Ron's name on her lips and a violent shake of her body. Laying there on her silk sheets now wet from her and her sweat, she allowed herself to catch her breathe before finally slipping out of bed.

Grabbing her short, black, silk dressing gown, she wrapped it around her naked body and headed downstairs for her typical breakfast of coffee, toast and fruit.

Passing by the front door on her way to the kitchen, a loud knock stopped her in her it had to be Theo managing to forget yet again the password to undo the wards, she didn't bother with ignoring the knock, as she normally would, or going to get more clothes. She just turned to answer it.

Hoping that it might actually be him and seeing her in this state might make him actually do something. Like he might actually touch her like she wanted him too, the way she had asked him to time and time again. Especially if he realized that the silk robe was his missing one. The one she had taken to make her own in a vain attempt to get his attention.

Only problem with that lingering thought, she realized as she opened the front door, was that Theo would actually have to be standing on the other side of the door.

She knew her eyes got big as she looked at Ron standing there dressed in his Auror's robes. His eyes the same deep, rich colour as the robes – navy. A clear sign of his internal desire. Her voice forgotten, she stood there, her heart beating faster and harder as she found herself aching for his touch and not just they way she had just imagined it to be.

"In the neighborhood as part of an investigation, ma'am" he finally said, his voice disturbing even and nonplussed while her breathing kept hitching as she felt his eyes roam up and down her body. She didn't think she had ever felt as wanted as she did at this very moment, standing nearly naked in the entry way of her house, without her hair done and without make up on. It made her feel alive just knowing he simply wanted her. "Do you have a moment?"

She stepped away from the door, in an unspoken gesture for him to come in. He nodded and stepped inside. Waiting until he was fully inside, she turned and closed the door. The door had barely clicked when she felt her back come in contact with the door hard and fast.

She gasped as she felt his weight press into her. Her hands instinctively going to his face. Holding it in place has their mouths found each other's at last. Teeth clacking together as they fought each other for dominance. Both wanting to be in control of this illicit, stolen moment.

She moaned his name as his fingers found the knot of her robe and undid it. Her own hands started to pull at the zipper on his robes. Their lips furiously seeking each other's taste and comfort as the robes found their way to the floor. Her fingers then went to his belt. Undoing first the buckle and then his trousers. Opening them, just enough in her desperation, to find what she really craved besides him.

It didn't take long to find what she was looking for. Wrapping her fingers around his silky hardness, she heard him gasp – his head buried in her neck, leaving heated kisses that burned her skin – as she freed it from it's confines.

"Ron," she moaned, sliding her hand up and back down the thickness, knowing what she really wanted was to feel him inside of her.

Her moan of "I need you" was all she was able to communicate at the moment as the lust-induced haze she found herself in took over all her senses and sensibilities.

"And I need you," he gasped, pulling at her hands and placing them on his body.

Without warning, she felt him grab beneath her thighs. Lifting her up, he pressed her even further into the door as she wrapped her legs around him. The single motion – from weeks of pent up passion and want for the other – caused him to slide easily inside her as they both groaned from the feel of what they had both been longing for, for longer than either would admit at the very moment.

"Ron," she whispered before capturing his lips again as he thrusted into her, eliciting a groan of pleasure from her lips.

Theo never made her feel like this.

She never made herself feel like this.

Any thoughts, any doubts, instantly were erased as he thrust into her again and again. Pressing her into the door as she pressed her hips into him, allowing him all the access he wanted to go deeper into her. Giving both their bodies exactly what they craved.

"Pansy," he moaned, finally able to release his lips from hers. "Pansy. Pansy. Pansy."

She loved hearing him repeat her name over and over again. She felt like a goddess in that moment. More importantly, she knew she was his goddess.

"Oh Ron," was all she managed to say in reply as she felt that ache start to really swell within her.

"Yes Ron," she panted. "Oh Gods yes." Digging her nails into his shoulders as her body tensed.

Then she heard it.

"Pansy."

Her name. His voice. Husky and breathless.

She called out his name as she followed him into the peaceful oblivian they shared only with the other.

Breathless, they came to rest against the door; him still buried inside her. Pansy's back was sore but she didn't care. She would do this everyday if it meant she could have Ron everyday. Feel him inside her and the way she did at that very moment.

Ron rested his forehead against hers. She took the moment to tilt her head just right to steal a soft, sweet kiss from his lips in adoration, praise and thanks.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't wait any longer," he whispered, stealing a soft kiss for himself before continuing, "I saw Theo leaving and I just had to see you this morning."


	4. Noon

Chapter 3 – Noon

Ron almost felt bad about ditching Harry for their standing Thursday lunch earlier. Key word was almost. It had been six weeks since he had last seen Pansy and he knew that at noon, an hour after his normal lunch, she would be waiting for him in room five at the Leaky Cauldron.

Walking into the bustling Leaky Cauldron, he knew exactly why she picked this time, this place. As people were unlikely to even notice him in their lunch rush on a Wednesday afternoon. He gave a quick nod to Hannah who stood behind the bar and waved before heading towards the stairs that would take him to Pansy, his beloved witch.

He was getting ready to put his first step on the stair and realized just how brilliant Pansy was. The stairs were out of sight from the majority of the patrons in the crowded bar and were on the way to entrance that would take one to Muggle London, so if anyone saw him in the crowded pub, like Hannah, they would assume he would be heading out to Muggle London. He could just kiss her at the moment for her sheer brilliance in planning this escapade.

Casting a quick silencing charm on his feet, he headed up the stairs. In the darkness of the staircase, he cast a disillusionment charm and made his way to room five on the third floor. Looking around, quickly, he entered the room with the key that Pansy had slipped him earlier that day at the Ministry.

He removed the disillusionment charm as soon as closed the door behind him. Adding his own silencing and locking charms before turning around to find his little witch.

Nothing prepared him for what she had in store for him this stolen lunch hour.

Pansy lying naked on the bed.

His eyes took in every curve, dip, and line that her glorious body made. From her round full breasts that filled his hands oh so perfectly, to the way her waist nipped in just below her breasts before flaring out into those outrageous and curvy hips that he adored. He wasn't sure what made his pants so tight at the moment, her nude body in such a blatant and wanton display just for him or the smile that stretched into a smirk across her beautiful face as her hazel eyes gleamed with mischief and the promise of more to come.

"Hello gorgeous," she purred perching up on her elbows. Her black hair hung down her back, the way he liked it – long and loose. "I think you have too much clothing on. I'd help, but I'm a bit tied up at the moment."

Ron didn't think his pants could fit any tighter when he realized just what she meant. His eyes widen before narrowing as a smirk crossed his face when he noticed the loosely tied Griffyndor ties around each of her wrists and ankles.

He waved his wand tightening the ties before tossing it aside; effectively pinning her to the bed before telling her, "Two can play this game."

"Is that so?" she teased, playfully. Ron loved how he could see her teasing flow through her lust filled eyes as she smirked at him. "So are you going to just stand there or are you going to show me?"

"I'm not the one tied to a bed with school ties."

"I'm not the one still dressed."

"You have a point Mrs. Nott," he whispered dropping his robe to the ground moving closer to his beloved mistress. "I also think that someone is a bit chatty at the moment."

"Is that so Mr. Weasley?" she teased. He could see the teasing growing more powerful in her eyes as her eyes moved up and down his still clothed body.

"Very much so," he responded sitting on the bed by her. His fingers slowly tracing her body. With every sensitive spot he grazed over, her body arched in pleasure and she made it known audibly. He loved that he could make the ice princess do that – lose control from his touch alone.

"Would you like to know where I got the ties?" she tried again but he didn't respond as he continued to explore her body with his fingertips. He knew exactly where those ties came from – he could see his initials stitched into the back of one of the ties. He just wondered how she got her hands on them.

Deciding to push her body just a tad bit further, he took one of her harden nipples into his mouth suddenly, causing her to gasp from the contact. He felt her body arch as much as she could into the sensation – sending another sensation to his own groin as he enjoyed feeling her reaction to the torture he knew she so desperately loved and needed. Ron knew that at the very moment, the promise of an oblivion that Theo wouldn't or couldn't provide her, was starting to become to much for her deprived body.

"What did I say about you being chatty?" he reprimanded as firmly as he could, standing up and slowly removing the tie he had on.

"You said nothing," she smirked. He loved that she was unafraid to challenge him but at the same point would let him be in absolute control of the situation – something he always hated Hermione for doing. He had regretfully married a woman who absolutely had to have control and wouldn't relinquish it to a soul under any circumstances, no matter what it cost her in the end.

Pansy's voice woke him from the sad and heavily traveled road he was about to embark upon. "So would you like to know who I got the ties from?"

He could tell she was expecting something; especially in the realm of shutting her up with his mouth or punishing her with a torturous exploration of her body but he also knew that she would never expect him to exhibit any control. Ron had never been known for his restraint especially when it came to his little witch. So that's what he did. He began to strip his clothes without answering her. He didn't hear her complain though which made him so proud of her. He was afraid he would have to punish her and that was the furthest thing from his mind at that very moment.

So he continued with the slow visual torture as he removed his button down as slowly as he could manage while hiding his excitement of what his lunch hour would bring him. Undoing each button meticulously, his eyes never left his lover's face. Then he slowly pulled the ends of his shirt free from the confines of his pants while he watched her breath start to quicken. He didn't just throw the shirt to the floor but let it drop before he removed his undershirt revealing that pale skin, littered with freckles and the hair that he knew she loved across his chest..

"Ron." She moaned. The sound went straight to his groin.

Ron couldn't help but smile at watching her slowly lose control as he undressed.

"What did I tell you about being chatty?" he smirked moving closer to her. His tie still in his hand as he rolled it up in a ball.

Leaning over, he whispered in her ear, "Open your mouth love."

His smirk eased into a smile as the look her eyes betrayed her before she complied to his simple command. Within moments of his order, his now rolled up tie was place firmly in her mouth – effectively gagging her. Ron knew that she had been purposefully been baiting him to gag her. He could see that this, lunch hour, was her gift to him for the morning he surprised her with weeks ago.

He couldn't believe that she remembered the fantasy that he had confessed to her months ago.

Ron watched as the familiar lust induced haze flooded her eyes. He knew her anticipation of that moment with him was starting to take control of her impulses and instincts – and he loved watching that moment when his ice princess evolved into a raging ball of fire for him, and only him. To know that he could have such control over such a passionate woman would always be his undoing when it came to Pansy.

In that split second, he made the decision to see if he could actually make her cum from the anticipation alone.

So he let her watch him as he lazily undid his belt, before pulling it aside and letting it drop nosily to the ground.

He kept her eyes on hers as he saw her breathing quicken as he undid the top button of his pants and in a fluid motion, Ron managed to kick away his shoes while sliding off his pants.

Ron could have sworn, he saw her heartbeat begin to race in her neck as he pulled off his socks. Slowly removing one and then the other, stretching out the anticipation as much as he could.

Then unexpectedly, he saw her eyes roll back into her head.

Ron watched as Pansy 's body begin to twitch. He hooked his thumbs under the waistband of his boxers and started to slide them down.

In awe of his little witch, Ron watched as she came for the first time as the clock struck noon.


	5. Afternoon

Chapter 4– Afternoon

Pansy arched her back and stretched as the late afternoon sun woke her from her nap; realizing she wasn't alone. Turning over onto her side, she propped her head up on her hand as she watched her beloved wizard sleep.

He looked so peaceful stretched out in front of her. Though she knew her touch would more than likely wake him from his sleep, she couldn't help herself as she gently brushed some of his red hair out of his face. His hand slapped away her hand from doing anything else, causing her to giggle.

With a smile on her face, she quietly crawled out of bed after placing an affectionate kiss on his forehead. Grabbing a discarded button-down that he had tossed aside at some point, she slipped it over her naked body. Walking down the stairs to the small kitchen to start working on a late lunch for him, she rolled up the sleeves.

She couldn't contain her giggles as she walked past other discarded clothing along her way. It had been a month since their encounter at the Leaky Cauldron and the first time in six months since they had been able to both come to the cabin. That particular combination had lead to a heated coupling with clothes on in the sitting room; with only her cloths off on the stairs; and finally one last time on the bed with all clothing removed.

There had been a time she had wondered how Ron was able to perform like a horny, teenage boy at 30 with a wife, two small children and a stressful job but she didn't care anymore. Though it always did her ego well to hear him say it was all because of her. He still wanted her as much now as when they started seeing each other six years ago.

Deciding that BLTs was the only thing she could possibly make at the moment, still pleasantly sore and tired from being taken three times by Ron in the past four hours, she pulled everything she needed out of the icebox and went to work.

It didn't take long for the sizzle and smell of bacon to fill the downstairs and start to trickle upstairs to their bedroom. Pansy smiled as she plated the first sandwich, hearing his footsteps on the stairs.

Placing the plate at his seat as he came around the corner dressed only in his boxers, she teased, "Perfect timing" before turning to make a sandwich for herself.

She didn't get very far in making her own sandwich as she felt one of Ron's arms wrap around her waist and pull him into her body. With his other hand, he brushed away her hair before his lips latched onto her neck. Laying kisses on it while nibbling from time to time, just the way she loved him to do as she moaned in her appreciation.

"Have I told you how sexy you look in my shirt?" he whispered in her ear before returning his attention to her neck as she pushed back into his erection.

"You can always show me," she purred back, placing her hands on the counter to maintain her balance.

Ron's throaty growl sent shivers down her spine as he bit her neck hard, causing her to cry out in ecstasy. His hands move lower as they caressed her hips and the upper part of her thighs before pushing the tail of his shirt up. Exposing everything beneath her waist.

"Little minx," he growled, his right hand moving between her legs. "Never sated are you?"

"Not when I'm with you," she moaned as his fingers slipped in between her folds, causing her to push even harder back into him.

His name was all she was able to manage as his fingers slipped inside, while his thumb rubbed her clit with just the right pressure. The combination of his fingers as well as his lips on her neck caused her body to ignite yet again. She knew his touch and skill would put her over the edge soon but she wanted more.

"Fuck me," she whispered near his ear. "Please Ron. Take me. I'm yours."

Pansy felt his breath hitch as he stopped what he was doing. Removing his hands from her, he spun her around and lifted her on the counter.

"What did you say?" he asked breathlessly.

She stared at him, breathing hard, wondering what she said that caused him to stop. Then it hit her.

Grabbing his face in between both of her hands she pulled him closer to her before whispering, "I'm yours Ron."

"Really?"

"Re--," she started before be silenced with Ron's lips pressed hard against her lips.

It was that first kiss all over again. Kissing with a long denied need and determination.

Pansy wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled him as close to the counter as she could. Her hands leaving his face, she pushed down his boxers to free his erection. She let her hand run up and down its length a couple of times, coating it in his pre-cum before angling her hips so she could slid him in her as he ravished her mouth.

They both groaned against the others lips as he entered her fully. Moaning each others names as they thrusted against each other. Hands pushing and pulling at the other's backs, hips, arms, butts, legs – anything to try and get closer to the other. For him to get deeper in her. For her to have more of him.

Their grunts and moans filled the small cottage. Only with a final yell of the other's name did silence overcome the cottage again.

Pansy and Ron came to rest as they did every time Ron was vertical while they had sex; their foreheads leaning against the other. Both breathing deeply. This time though, they found they really couldn't have enough of the other and continued to share sweet, short, gentle kisses.

"Now that's what I call an afternoon," she purred, pulling him closer and resting her head against the crook of his neck and shoulder.


	6. Dusk

Chapter 5 – Dusk

Ron had left hours ago but with Theo on the continent for another week, Pansy hadn't felt like leaving the cottage just yet to return to a house that wasn't a home to her. And hadn't been in years.

Fixing a mug of hot chocolate, she decided that she would watch the sunset from the porch swing. She had never been a sunset kind of girl. It always reminded her of endings and not beginnings like the sunrise. But today felt different. Something felt different this time when Ron left to return to Hermione and the children. His parting kiss, though it lingered as it always did, felt different upon her lips. It seem to hold a new and different promise.

Grabbing the quilt she kept on the chair by the doorway, she headed out the front door. Pansy set the quilt on the porch swing and climbed into it, wrapping her legs underneath her. Sipping her hot chocolate while she rocked, she let her mind wander to thoughts of Ron as the sun started to take that dip that led to dusk.

The creaking first step on her porch caused her to jump, spilling her hot chocolate as the mug clattered to the ground. Only Ron knew where the cottage was and he was at home with his family. Mentally she cursed herself for leaving her wand inside.

Mid-way through her panic attack, she stopped cold in her tracks as she watched Ron's red hair come up the stairs.

"Ron," she called out, running to him; trying to avoid the shards of her broken mug on her porch. Panic took over again as she started to ramble, "What's wrong? Is everything okay? Are the kids okay? Nothing has happened to Rose or Hugo has it?"

He didn't say anything as she ran to him. Instead he just smiled at her which aggravated her to no end..

"Ron," she said grabbing his shirt, "Talk to me. What's happened? What's going on?"

But he just continued to smile as his hand came up to caress her jaw.

"Ron," she pleaded, swiping his hand away as her irritation with him at the very moment grew.

"You really are mine, aren't you?" he said with a laugh, pulling her into a hug and swinging her around.

From her vantage, she buried her face into his neck and fussed, "Of course I am. I almost regret saying anything to you yesterday if you keep this up."

"You know you love it," he told her as he used his fingers to tip up her head. Taking that moment, he whispered, "Just as I love you," before stealing a kiss.

Pansy pulled back in shock. She knew her eyes widened as he said those words to her. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she was able to get the words to stumble out, "You do?"

"Yes I do," he whispered. "I'm not asking you to say them back. I just wanted you to know how I felt. How you make me feel."

"Is that why you came back?" she asked hesitantly, not sure where this realization of his was going to mean not only to him but to her and most importantly to them.

"Yes and no," he said placing her back on her feet. Taking a seat on the porch, he patted the seat next to him, telling her to have a seat without words.

Pansy did as he requested. She found herself a bit surprised for some reason, when he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him, placing a kiss on the top of her head as soon as she was were he wanted her.

"So are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"On one condition," he replied, kissing her on the forehead this time, "You promise you won't say anything until I'm done."

Pansy found herself reluctant to promise that but one look at his face told her that there was no other way for her to get him to talk to her at the moment.

"Okay," she nodded. "I promise."

Ron grabbed her hand, the one without her wedding ring, and started to rub circles on the back of her hand. At the very moment she noticed, he no longer had his on. Her heart wasn't sure what to do at the moment; it wanted to leap in joy that he was finally free to be with her while also wanting to fall out of her chest because she knew she could never bring herself to leave Theo.

"You left Hermione," she whispered, her eyes firmly on his right hand with the pale reminder of where the ring had been. Turning her head to look at him, "You left her?"

Her eyes found his and she saw the truth lying there for all to see. Tears started to form in her eyes but for what reason, she had no idea. She felt his hand move to the side of her face, cupping her cheek as his thumb wiped the tears that escaped. Pansy leaned into his hand, trying to find comfort in it; hoping the tears would stop falling, or stop coming for that matter.

"I did," he whispered, pulling her into his lap. "I couldn't do it anymore. I came home today and the criticism just started in. That I couldn't expect her to do everything herself; that she got nothing done for work this weekend with the children running about. Both of who were upstairs in their rooms grounded because they drew on one of bloody parchments that she leaves all over the house. Then I thought about what you said yesterday and realized I didn't have to do this anymore. That there was someone out there that thought I was good enough to be with and wanted to be with me; instead of someone who only wanted a stepping stone into our world. So I gathered up the children, took them to mum and dad's and now I'm here."

"Ron," she whispered. "But I can't leave Theo. I can't do that to him. It would destroy him."

"And I'm not asking you too," he gently told her, kissing her head. "It's not my place to ask. I left Hermione because it was the right thing for me and my children; not because of you. I finally became tired of doing what was right instead of what was right for me and them."

"Promise?" she asked looking up at him. "I can't bear the thought that I'm the reason."

"Promise," he whispered, lifting her chin up and pressing a gentle kiss against her lips.

Her eyes still wet, she asked, "Would you like use of the cottage?"

"Thanks but I'll just find a place," he responded placing a kiss on her forehead before turning in the direction of the sunset to watch the sun fade away.

Pansy instead, buried her head into his shoulder, "It's no big deal. It's big enough for the three of you."

"I don't want us to be an inconvenience."

"Consider the cottage yours," she whispered, closing her eyes. "I'll head home tomorrow morning, so you can get the children settled in."

The sounds of the woods grew louder as the silence fell over the two lovers embracing on the stairs.

"Don't you want to watch the sunset?" he asked, noticing that Pansy still had her eyes tightly closed and buried into his neck. "Isn't that why you were out on the porch?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because dusk always fulfills its promise of an end," Pansy whispered, wiping away the tears that had escaped.

"Always so pessimistic," he replied. Kissing her on the forehead, he tried to remind her, "But dusk always brings a promise of things to come. Of new beginnings."


	7. Evening

Chapter 6 – Evening

The evenings were the worst part of Pansy's day lately. For her house with Theo had become even quieter since his return from France. He would come home from work, they would have dinner with no words being exchanged before he would excuse himself. Pansy would watch each evening as he would lock himself away in his office; away from her.

Pansy had noticed a change in Theo when he returned. He was even more quiet than normal and it was clear that he hadn't slept in sometime. She tried to get him to talk to her numerous times but he just pushed her away. And just kept pushing which hurt as he had never shut her out this much before. There were times that he would shut her out a day here or a day there but it never last this long.

It never had lasted two weeks.

Pansy had gone to see Ron briefly to make sure he and the kids had settled into the cottage okay. She told him what was going on with Theo and how he was scaring her. Ron tried to comfort her as much as he could but in the end, he had no counsel to give that put her mind at ease. She was thankful that Ron just told her to go take care of her husband; he was her priority not Ron and the kids.

Returning from the cottage, she expected to enter an empty house but found Theo sitting in his chair in their sitting room with a drink and a book on his lap. It looked strangely like their wedding album.

"I didn't expect you back so soon," he said as he flipped the page.

Taken back, she spoke carefully when she said, "My errands didn't take that long."

"How's Ron?"

She paled as she stared at him, wondering how he knew and what she could say at the very moment, knowing she had given herself away without saying a word.

"Does he like the cottage? It's probably perfect from Rose and Hugo. That is the children's' names, isn't it?" Theo continued before she had a chance to speak.

Pansy just stood there in the doorway, now really unsure of what to say. She stood there for what felt like an eternity before Theo noticed the silence.

He looked up from the book, he had been flipping through and said, "What, you didn't think that I haven't known all these years?"

"You have?" she whispered, suddenly feeling very small.

"Yes," he replied, taking a sip of his drink. "I've actually known since that Ministry New Year's party. What was that six years ago?"

"Why didn't you say something?"

"Why should I?" Pansy couldn't believe he looked at her with the most incredulous look on his face. She couldn't believe, he was actually amazed at her wondering why he didn't call her out for violating the vows they made on their wedding day. "You and Ron were always discrete in your outings which I appreciated. Anyway, I never could deny you anything that made you happy. And frankly there were things in this life that he could give you that I never could. I couldn't deny you that. I loved you too much to do that."

"Theo," she whispered, moving over towards him. She wanted to apologize but she couldn't find the words at that moment. "You know I've always meant it when I told you I loved you."

"You had Ron," he continued. Pansy couldn't help but feel hurt that he was ignoring that fact that she really did mean it when she said she loved him.

"And I had Daphne," Pansy stopped in her tracks when she heard Daphne's names come out of his lips. "So I'm not completely guiltless in all of this. She and I started carrying on long before you and Ron did. I just hope Ron will treat you better in the end when the times get tough."

"Theo what's going on?" Pansy whispered rushing towards him and dropping to her knees by where he stood.

Theo stayed quiet though. Pansy realized that the album on his lap was their wedding album. Taking it from his lap, she sat it on the floor by her. Looking back at him, she watched him finish his drink. He sat it on the side table before turning to look at her. For the first time, she saw tears in his eyes.

"Theo, please tell me what's going on?" she begged, grabbing his hands. "Don't shut me out."

"Why did you stay after all these years?" he asked, looking so pitiful.

Reaching her hand up to his face, "Because I loved you. I always have. I always will. You have been my best friend, my confidant, my lover. You will always mean the world to me; no matter what I may feel towards Ron."

"You know when I returned from the continent and heard he had left Granger, I was expecting you to be gone too. That you would leave me like Daphne did."

"I wouldn't do that to you. I couldn't do that to you. Your my Theo. You always have been," she told him, fighting back the tears. "I know I haven't been faithful these past few years but I have always loved you. I would have left you and resented you a long time ago if I didn't have those stolen outings with Ron every so often; he just filled the hole that we as a couple couldn't in my life. I know that's not what you want to hear but it's the truth. I owe you that."

Theo didn't say anything but stared straight ahead. Pansy watched as tears started to escape his eyes as he sipped his drink.

Then he whispered, "Daphne's gone. She said she couldn't handle it and took off for the states. She left me Pansy. She just left me when I needed her the most."

"Couldn't handle what Theo?" Pansy knew her panic was in her voice. But she didn't want to hide it. She couldn't hide if from Theo. "What's going on Theo, please tell me?"

"I'm dying," he whispered as he continued to stare straight ahead. "The doctors are giving me just a few months. I was going to set you free and spend the rest of my days with Daphne but now she's gone. She said she couldn't watch me leave her, so she left first."

"Oh gods," Pansy burst out crying wrapping her arms around Theo. "Oh Theo. My darling Theo."

Together they held each other in his chair and cried. Cried for each other and themselves as the evening shouldered on, growing darker every minute, whether they wanted it to or not.


	8. Midnight

Chapter 7 – Midnight

It was midnight. Pansy wasn't quite sure what day it was, or the date, or even the month for that matter. All she knew besides the clock telling her it was midnight was that Theo had been gone for ten days, nineteen hours, and thirteen minutes and that it had been seven days, seven hours and thirty minutes since they buried him in the Nott family masuleom.

She just sat in his chair in the sitting room, wondering what she was going to do now. She had nothing. Her husband was gone. Her best friend. Her lover. Her confidant. He was gone at thirty-one years of age. She had just spent the last four months of her life watching him fade away before her very eyes and she couldn't do anything to stop it.

Her mind started to go down another path as she wondered if the pain of losing Theo would ever go away. If she would ever forgive Daphne for abandoning Theo when he needed her the most. If she would ever forgive herself for cheating on him with Ron for the past six years, even if he had sworn that there was nothing to forgive – that she had done nothing wrong..

She wasn't entirely sure if she could even survive this.

The last two weeks, she had had him were the worse as he struggled for every breath. She had watched his coughing fits grow steadily stronger, racking his weakened body as he tried to get any air into them that he could. Pansy watched as he struggled to stay alive with each passing day by that point. Then, though she knew it was coming, she still wasn't ready for when his lungs finally giving up as he laid curled up in her arms while she slept. When she woke that morning and saw the peaceful look on his face, she knew he was gone. Her Theo was gone forever.

She had managed to keep herself together long enough to deal with all the obligations that a funeral brings but after that she found herself standing in the entryway of her house and no purpose.

What was she suppose to do with herself now?

Draco, Greg, Blaise, Millicent and Asteria had all tried talking sense into her. Multiply times. They all had tried to get her to at least talk to Daphne; trying to convince her that she was in as much pain as Pansy found herself. All Pansy could do when they told her that was remind them, that Pansy was the one who stayed and took care of Theo; watched him fade away and had him die in her bloody arms – not Daphne, so she really didn't know the pain Pansy felt now. Even their attempts to get her to even take a shower or leave the house since the funeral hadn't been successful. But she couldn't bring herself to do anything but sit in his chair, blame herself and cry in Theo's old sweatshirt and a pair of his pajama pants.

Most of them had given up trying to reason with her three days, two hours, and seventeen minutes ago.

Except Draco. He hadn't given up until three hours and twenty minutes before.

She heard the front door open but she didn't move from where she sat in Theo's chair. Pansy didn't even turn her head. It could be burglars for all she cared. If that was the case, then they could take whatever they want as long as they killed her and sent her to hell where she belonged.

"Pansy?"

She didn't acknowledge Draco's voice as he called her name. She just stayed where she was staring at the fire in the fireplace. Pansy knew he was looking for her, probably to try and reason with her again, like the persistent, stubborn fool he was, but she wasn't going to help him find her. The house wasn't that big, he find her without too much trouble in no time.

"Found her."

_Everyone came this time_, she thought as she heard Blaise's voice from the direction of the entry way where you could see into the sitting room.

She just continued to stare straight at the fire as she heard foortsteps enter the room, wondering what the hell they were going to say now or try to bribe her with. Why couldn't they just understand, that she wanted them to let her die? To let her go to hell where she belonged or if she was lucky she could join Theo where he was.

Pansy felt the presence of someone kneel beside her. Just like she had when Theo told her he was dying all those months ago.

"Just go away," she sighed, knowing it was Draco kneeling beside her. He had been the only one brave enough to come near her since she lashed out at Asteria and slapped her six days, four hours, and forty-seven minutes ago. "Just leave me alone and go away."

"I'm not going anywhere."

Pansy abruptly turned her head to see Ron kneeling right beside her. She just stared at him, as he brushed her dirty, tangled hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ears. Pansy saw his own tears start to glaze his bright blue eyes.

"Everyone is worried sick about you," he whispered, letting his hand linger on her cheek, wiping away tears that were escaping again. "Malfoy ventured into the Burrow to find me if that tells you anything."

She didn't know what she was supposed to say to that; even if she could have said anything at all.

"Why didn't you tell me what was going on? I could have helped you and been here for you."

There was now so many things she wanted to say but her voice just wouldn't work at that moment, so she did what she could and flung herself towards him. Wrapping her arms around him, she held on for dear life as her cries racked her body as she sobbed that Theo was gone.

Pansy felt his arms wrap around her as he held her close and rocked her; whispering "It's going to be okay" and "Let us help you" over and over again. He seemed to sense her exhaustion finally winning the battle with her mind, when he finally whispered, "Just come home with me. Let me and the kids take care of you."

At that moment, she found herself incapable of anything but nodding as her eyes struggled to stay open. Pansy heard his sigh of relief as she felt him stand up, tightening her grip on him as he did the same to her.

The last thing she heard before sleep overcame her was Draco thanking Ron and telling him to owl if he needed any help. That he, Blaise, Greg or Millicent would be there if he needed anything. Then she realized, her mother was right – even at its darkest, anything can happen at midnight.


	9. Christmas Day

Epilogue – Christmas Day

"Daddy. Mum. Wake up. It's Christmas."

"Yeah. It's Christmas." Came the second smaller voice.

Pansy opened up her eyes, to see Rosie and Hugo on the bed, having curled up between her and Ron at some point. Hugo's bright blue eyes staring her in the face

"It's about time you're awake. You are getting as bad as Daddy these days," Rosie said before turning to her father and shaking him. "Daddy wake up. You are the only one not up. Even Mum's up."

Pansy laughed at Rosie's valiant attempt to wake Ron up.

"Come on Hugo, help me," she ordered as Hugo joined in trying to rouse their father. "Aren't you going to help us?"

"You are on your own," Pansy replied with a laugh, as she struggled a bit to sit up and get to her feet with her large belly and the persistent backache that hadn't gone away the past two days. She just hoped that the baby would wait one more day because she wanted Rosie and Hugo to have a nice quiet Christmas here at the cottage. "I'm going to go get breakfast started while you two figure out how to do the impossible."

She left them to their own devices, knowing that Ron was only feigning sleep to aggravate the children, as she waddled down the stairs. Days like today, hearing Rosie and Hugo call her mum, made her thankful for everyday she had with them. All those years ago, when she and Theo had found out they would never have children, she had always thought that it didn't matter but now with Rosie and Hugo and a new baby in her life soon; she couldn't imagine anything better.

It amazed her these days that Hermione just wasn't all that involved with her children. When she first come to live with them, Hermione had primary custody but it soon became obvious that the children spent more time with her and Ron than with Hermione so it only made sense to have the custody arrangements reversed. However, she had pulled away even more recently with the excuse of a big case which hurt the children who did miss their mother and that alone hurt Ron and Pansy. But neither one knew what to do or say, when Rosie informed them that she had Hugo where going to start calling Pansy 'mum' and that they couldn't talk them out of it. Being speechless, they didn't but just a few months after Rosie's announcement, it felt normal and right for Pansy to be called mum by them. Especially Hugo, who had obviously become her little boy.

She had barely stepped into the kitchen, when she felt what had to be a contraction rip across her belly. Bending over a bit, she grabbed her belly and tried to relax as it passed. She had been told that the first baby always takes time, so when she heard Ron and the children on the stairs of their cottage, she figured that they could at least eat breakfast and open gifts before she told Ron.

However, the baby seemed to have a different idea. Though she was able to hide the second set of contractions by going to the bathroom forty-five minutes later; she was unable to hide the next set which came only twenty minutes later.

And that's when chaos in the Weasley cottage set in.

First there was Ron carrying Pansy up to bed, though she kept telling him she could walk. She was in labor, not dying. Then there was Rose all excited about another sibling to boss around. So in her six year old mind, she decided to be helpful by Floo-calling Nana Weasley which sent the matriarch over to the house in a tizzy, screaming at Ron and Pansy why they didn't call her sooner. And that led to the whole Weasley clan to make various appearances all day whether they were actually were wanted or needed or not.

Poor little Hugo, though Ron and Pansy had talked to him several times about what was going to happen became so frightened at one point by Pansy yelling, that he hid. Which set Pansy into a panic when she found out. Unfortunately, it took Harry and George forty-five minutes to find him asleep under his own bed. Though they didn't tell Pansy or Ron that – they figured what those two didn't know couldn't hurt them.

The chaos didn't settle until little Oliver Theodore Weasley made an appearance into the world at six-thirty in the evening; causing both parents to cry before he did. Yet nothing prepared anyone, especially the parents, for tiny Michael Harry Weasley four minutes later.


End file.
